The Physiology of Rooting of Cuttings of Shorea platyclados V. Sl. ex Foxw.
and Shorea acuminata Dyer and Eleven Other Species of Forest Trees

by

Alias Mohd Sood
B. Sc. (For.)
1984

Supervisor: Mohd Basri Hamzah
Co-supervisor: Sheikh Ali Abod

The main objective of this study is to elucidate the rooting response of stem cuttings of several forest trees, both exotic and indigenous species. Vegetative propagation by stem cutting may solve the problem of inadequate seed supply due to infrequent flowering and rapid loss of viability in most dipterocarp seeds. It is hoped that cuttings can be a useful means for mass production of quality planting stock. This study was conducted in a greenhouse at the Faculty of Forestry, UPM. Two exotic tree species were chosen, i.e. Gmelina arborea (Yemane) and Acacia mangium, while the indigenous species were Shorea platyclados (Meranti Bukit), Shorea acuminata (Meranti Rambai Daun), Shorea parvifolia (Meranti Sarang Punai), Shorea ovalis (Meranti Kepong), Shorea leprosula (Meranti Tembaga), Shorea bracteolata (Meranti Paang), Hopea odorata (Merawan Siput Jantan), Madhuca sericea (Nyatoh), Dryobalanops aromatica (Kapur), Dipterocarpus oblongifolia (Keruing Neram), and Mesua ferrea (Penaga Lilin). Of these, Shorea platyclados and Shorea acuminata were studied for hormone, leaf, age, and position effects on rooting. Cuttings of 10-15 cm of the two species were treated with various rooting hormones, namely IBA 1000 ppm, IBA 500 ppm, NAA 1000 ppm, NAA 500 ppm, and IBA 250 ppm + NAA 250 ppm. Cuttings were taken from basal and terminal stems, with and without leaf, and also from branches. For the remaining eleven species, basal stem cuttings without leaves were treated with IBA 1000 ppm only. All cuttings were placed in pots measuring 15 cm x 30 cm containing rooting medium of sand and soil mixture at 3:1 ratio. The pots were randomly arranged on a propagating bed with automatic misters and polythene sheet covering to minimize evapotranspiration loss. Fungicide was applied several times. Treatment with IBA 1000 ppm gave the highest rooting percentage for both Shorea platyclados (50%) and Shorea acuminata (20%). The rooting percentages for other species were as follows: Gmelina arborea (100%), Hopea odorata (100%), Dipterocarpus oblongifolia (100%), Shorea bracteolata (90%), Madhuca sericea (80%), Shorea leprosula (50%), Shorea ovalis (40%), Shorea parvifolia (30%), and Acacia mangium (20%). Both Mesua ferrea and Dryobalanops aromatica failed to root. Cuttings with leaves were found to have higher rooting percentage compared to those without leaves. For the age effect, older cuttings (i.e. 51 months) were found to root better than younger cuttings (i.e. 20 months). This suggests that the older cutting is still at juvenile stage. Stem cuttings have higher rooting percentage than branch cuttings and it was found that the rooting percentage for basal stem cuttings is higher than terminal stem cuttings.

Citation:
Alias, M. S. 1984. The physiology of rooting of cuttings of Shorea platyclados V. Sl. ex Foxw. and Shorea acuminata Dyer and eleven other species of forest trees. B. Sc. (For.) Thesis. Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia. 104 leaves. (http://www.oocities.org/EnchantedForest/Palace/1170/abalias.html)